the Guardian
by d1824
Summary: The Daleks cross into the Star trek universe and the Doctor follows. But the Daleks have a plan that could enslave all realities. A plan that the Doctor and the crew of the Enterprise may be powerless to stop!
1. Chapter 1

The Guardian.

Prologue.

The Guardian of Forever had stood for over 4 billion years. It remembered all the beings that had visited its planet over the millennia. They had come and tried to fathom its secrets but none could. After what seemed like a few moments for the Guardian but in reality was years for the other beings they had left, having learned nothing from the Guardian it did not want them to know. Now a group of Humans from a planet called Earth had set up a base, trying to unlock the Guardians mysteries. The Guardian knew that an entire human lifespan would not be enough to learn about its existence. It would take an almost immortal being to do that…..

Part one

_Captains Log stardate 2094.1_

_The _Enterprise_ is on patrol in Sector 197 of Federation space. We are in a shakedown mode after our visit to Starbase 24 following two weeks of repairs after our encounter with the Doomsday weapon that claimed the _Constellation_ and my friend Matt Decker. The _Enterprise_ has had a long needed overhaul and she seems better than ever._

Captain James T Kirk shut down his computer and leaned back into the chair in his quarters. He rubbed his eyes. The _Enterprise_ might have had a refit and be good as new but her Captain still felt the loss of his friend keenly. He still had nightmares about pleading with Matt Decker not to fly his stolen shuttle into the hellish maw of that dreadful machine. It was touch and go whether Kirk himself was going to be the machines next victim until the _Enterprise's_transporters whisked him to safety. Kirk sat in silence, listening to the deep comforting hum coming from the ship. He then thought of all the lives that had been saved by the destruction of the doomsday machine and felt that Matt Decker could not have had a better epitaph.

The comm whistle chirped on Kirks desk.

"Kirk here"

First Officer Spock's voice filtered through the speaker.

"Captain we are receiving a distress call from a Starfleet research base two light years away. They state that they are under attack and are in need of immediate assistance" Spock hesitated "It is the Forever base on the Guardians' world"

Kirk stiffened, a ghostly face of a woman flashed across his mind.

Spock spoke again. "I have checked Captain and we are the closest vessel"

Kirk heard the faint tone of regret in Spock's tone.

"Set course and engage at Warp six, tell Mr Scott to go to Warp eight as soon as possible. I'm on my way" Kirk stood, then stopped "Thank you Mr Spock"

"Acknowledged Captain"

Kirk left his quarters and made his way to the nearest turbolift. It sped him up five decks and the doors opened onto the red and black bridge.

He saw his prime crew at their stations, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. Mr Scott was at the engineering station to the left and Spock was in the centre seat. As Kirk descended Spock stood and vacated the seat. Kirk sat down, a feeling of security and confidence alive in him, as he always felt when in this chair.

"Status?" Kirk asked.

"We are on course Captain, currently at Warp seven point eight and accelerating" Spock said "Eta at Forever base nineteen point two hours"

Kirk looked over to his left.  
"Scotty, can we hold speed for that long?"

"Aye Sir, but she'll be straining" Came the engineers reply.

"Thank you Mr Scott" Kirk said "Lt Uhura, any more from Forever base?"

The beautiful communications officer pressed a button.

"No sir, they reported that they were under attack from an unknown vessel, nothing since. I am continuing attempts to raise them"

"Very good Lt" Kirk said. He saw that Spock had moved to his science station. Kirk stood and joined him.

"Anything on sensors?" Kirk asked.

"We will not be in sensor range for another two hours" Spock said. Kirk turned as the turbolift doors hissed open and Dr Leonard McCoy walked onto the bridge. He made his way to Kirk and Spock.

"Jim, what's going on?" He asked.

"Forever base is under attack Bones, that's all we know" Kirk said.

McCoy's brow furrowed in concern and he flashed a look at Kirk.

"How many personnel on the base?" He asked.

Spock answered immediately

"Eighty researchers and scientists currently stationed there, along with a large security contingent and the _USS Ajax _in orbit" Spock didn't have to say why. The Guardian had the potential to be a devastating weapon.

Kirk knew the _Ajax_. She was a _Trojan_ class destroyer, fast and well armed.

"Jim….Are you sure..."McCoy began.

Kirk cut him off. "We have a job to do Doctor" making it clear that the bridge was not the place for this discussion.

Kirk moved back to his chair and sat down. McCoy moved down next to him.

"I'll be in sickbay" Meaning that's where I'll be if you want to talk, Jim. He left the bridge.

Kirk stared at the view screen as stars blazed past the starship. His thoughts kept drifting to events from six months ago. How the _Enterprise_ had picked up what amounted to ripples in time coming from a planet. While in orbit an accident with a hypospray had turned McCoy into a raving paranoid, convinced that everyone was out to kill him. He escaped the ship and beamed to the planet surface. Kirk, Spock and a landing party had followed to find him. Instead they discovered the Guardian of Forever, a portal that could take them to point in Earths history. As they watched images from the Guardian McCoy had jumped through and altered the past. There was no _Starship Enterprise_, no Starfleet. Kirk's only option was for him and Spock to follow and try put things right. They had found a focal point in time in 1920's America around a social worker called Edith Keeler. Kirk fell deeply in lover with her but cruel fate meant that Keeler had become a voice for peace at the start of World War Two, delaying the US entry into the war and meaning Nazi Germany was able to develop the atom bomb and conquer the world. To prevent this Kirk had to stand by and allow Keeler to be killed in a road accident, stopping McCoy from saving her. Kirk, Spock and McCoy returned to the present to find things were as they should be. But Kirk was left shattered and now six months later he was going to have to return to the Guardian again.

Lt Uhura's voice broke Kirk out of his memory.

"Captain! I have Forever base on audio"

"On speakers!" Kirk ordered.

A crackly voice came out of the speakers.

"To any vessel…..we require urgent assistance….we are under heavy attack…." There was a hiss of static…"Unknown vessel…disc shaped….heavy casualties….our shields are failing…._Ajax _gone!"

"Lt, tie me in!" Kirk said.  
"Go ahead sir"

"This is Captain Kirk of the _Enterprise._ We are enroute. Can you identify your attacker?"

There was more static.

"_Enterprise._ This is Commander Reynolds. No identity on attacker….."The voice faltered as if in pain. "No warning…..NO!... They're firing aga…." The transmission was cut off abruptly.

Kirk turned and looked at Uhura. She pushed a few buttons.  
"Sorry Captain, contact lost". A silence fell over the bridge.

Kirk turned to Scott.

"Aye Captain. I'll get more speed" Scott left the bridge.

A few minutes later Sulu said.

"Sir our speed has increased to Warp eight point three….point four….point six…Holding at that".

Kirk pushed a button on his chair.

"Kirk to Engineering. Well done Mr Scott"

"Aye Captain but she can't give any more".

"Understood, Kirk out. Mr Chekov, what's our new ETA?"

"Eight hours Captain".

Kirk glanced over at Spock. Both knew that they would probably arrive to find a graveyard.

"Sir, we are now within Sensor range" Spock said twenty minutes later. He stood and gazed into his scope, the blue light reflecting off his face. Kirk heard the familiar pulse sound coming from the scanner. "I am detecting an unknown vessel in orbit around the planet. It is of a configuration unknown to us" He paused "Shape is a disc, roughly five hundred meters in diameter. I am detecting high energy readings of a type never before encountered"

Kirk leaned forward in his chair  
"Are they still attacking the base?"

"I am not detecting any weapons fire, but I am now detecting smaller vessels moving between the larger vessel and the planet."

"A landing force!" Kirk said. "Lt Uhura, hail that ship!"

"Frequencies open Captain"

"This is Captain James T Kirk of the _Starship Enterprise._ You have committed an act of aggression against the Federation of Planets. Identify yourselves"

There was silence and then a harsh grating voice boomed over the bridge.

"We are the Daleks! You will be exterminated!"

"Captain the vessel is breaking orbit and moving to intercept us." Spock said.

"They are moving at high warp and will reach us in twenty minutes"

"Twenty minutes Spock?" Kirk was shocked. He saw Sulu and Chekov exchange a glance. "How fast are they going?"

"At least warp twelve" Spock said.

"Red alert! Battle stations" Kirk ordered. The siren wail reverberated through the great ship, her crew hurrying to stations in preparation for battle. On the bridge Kirk stared at the view screen. He was aware of reports coming in form the helm.

"Shields up Captain, phasers and photon torpedoes on line" Sulu said.  
"Enemy vessel heading in 000 mark 0" Chekov said. This meant a head on meeting.

"Sir I am reading power surges in the vessel. They are powering weapons" Spock reported.

"All hands at battle stations "Uhura said "Engineering reports full emergency power available"

The _Enterprise_, fully angered, sped towards her meeting.

"Vessel within visual range" Spock said.

"On screen" Kirk said.

The viewscreen flickered and a ship appeared. It was disc shaped with a large central dome on top and smaller domes ringing the lower surface. It was a burnished bronze colour.

"They are reducing speed to sublight Captain" Sulu said.

"Slow to impulse. Lt Uhura, hail them" Kirk said.

"Channel open"

"This is Captain Kirk of…." Kirk was cut off. "We are the Daleks! You will be exterminated!"

"Single minded aren't they Spock?" Kirk said. Spock's reply was never heard as the _Enterprise_ rocked as she was hit by multiple weapons impacts.

Kirk hung on grimly till the shaking stopped.

"Sulu return fire! Full phasers!"

Blue beams of energy lanced out from the starship and struck the Dalek ship.

Spock called out.

"Shields down by ten percent. Minimal damage to enemy vessel" The _Enterprise_bucked again as she was hit.

"Sulu! Course 145 mark 30, full impulse! Fire!" Kirk said.

Phasers lashed out again.

"What are they using Spock?"

"Some form of disruptor Captain, but more powerful that anything we've ever seen"

The _Enterprise_shook again as she was pummelled by the Dalek ship.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Kirk ordered "Fire!"

The Dalek ship was illuminated by the blue energy but kept firing.

"Our shields are down to forty percent" Spock reported.

"Lock on photos torpedoes" Kirk said.

"Torpedoes locked on." Sulu replied.

"Fire!"

Fiery balls in incandescent energy rocketed from the starship and slammed into the bronze disc. Explosions erupted into space. Kirk allowed himself a small smile. At least we can hurt them somehow, he thought.

"Dalek vessel shields down by twenty percent" Spock reported. He looked at Kirk and there was unspoken communication between them. Although the photons had damaged her opponent the _Enterprise_ was still outgunned and her shields were failing rapidly. At this rate the starship would be destroyed before she could batter through the Dalek shields. As if to enforce this point the ship heeled over to port as she was struck hard. Sparks flew from a side console as it overloaded.

"Captain shields down to ten percent! We have damage to decks twenty and twenty one. Another hit and our shields will fail". Spock reported.

The _Enterprise_rockedas she was battered again and again. Lights failed on the bridge and Kirk knew his ship had been hurt.

"Shields are down! We have a hull breach on deck seven. Engineering reports damage to forward phaser banks and torpedo tube!" Spock said.

Kirk saw Sulu and Chekov hanging onto the helm for grim death.

"Sulu! One hundred and eighty degrees about! Ahead maximum warp!" Kirk's hand slammed down onto his comm button.

"Kirk to engineering!"  
"Lt Cook here sir, Mr Scott has been taken to sickbay"

Kirk stiffened in his seat.

"Understood. Lt I want all auxiliary power to the aft shields! Give us maximum speed!.

"Aye sir, but we've taken damage to the engines; I don't know how long we can maintain top speed"

"Noted, Kirk out".

"Our speed is warp eight Captain" Sulu reported.

Kirk looked over to Spock who was bent over his scanner. After a few seconds he looked up.

"They are pursuing".

The _Enterprise_zoomed through space at hundreds of times the speed of light trying to outrun death. Inside her crew worked frantically to repair her.

In his command chair Captain Kirk turned to his first officer.

"Time to intercept?"

"The enemy vessel has accelerated to warp point eight point zero one. They will intercept in thirty six minutes" Spock said "Fascinating"

Chekov spoke up.

"Why aren't they going faster? We know they can?"

"That is an excellent question Ensign" Spock turned to Kirk.

"There are two possibilities. Either we have caused more damage than we suspect or…."

"….Or they enjoy seeing us running for our lives" Kirk finished.

"I would prefer the former" Spock said.

"Why is that Mr Spock?" Uhura said.

"If it is the latter then we are dealing with creatures that have the capacity for cruelty. In that case we should expect no mercy"

"They haven't caught us yet!" Kirk said, defiantly, determined not to allow a creeping panic set in on the bridge.

His chair comm whistled.

"Sickbay to Captain Kirk". McCoy's voice sounded.

"Go ahead Bones"

"We have twenty injured "He paused "With two killed"

Kirk was silent.

"But Scotty has been released and is back in engineering". McCoy continued.

"Thank you Doctor" Kirk said

"Jim…." McCoy began.

"I'll be down when I can. Kirk out"

Kirk was aware that Spock had moved silently to stand next to him. As was his custom when he wanted to speak informally Spock faced away from the viewscreen.

"Jim, there was not anything you could have done".

"What's our status Mr Spock?" Kirk was in no mood to talk about how he had failed at the moment.

"Our damage is under repair but engineering reports it will be at least two hours before phasers and photon torpedoes are in working order. Our shields have totally failed and will need several hours to restore""

"Is there any good news Mr Spock?"

"We are alive"

The comm whistled

"Scott here Captain. Our engines are straining, with the damage I can only hold speed for another half-hour"

"Understood Mr Scott…Do what you can" Kirk said. He sat down and rubbed a hand across his chin, deep in thought as the Dalek ship slowly and relentlessly closed on her pray.

Deep in the _Enterprise_ was a lovely arboretum, a room filled with trees and plants from Earth. Starfleet designers had recognised the need for the crew to have a lush garden to walk in. A mysterious wind started to blow and a deep grinding noise reverberated through the area. An object started to appear beneath a large oak in the centre of the arboretum. The object solidified into a large blue box, with a flashing lamp on the top. Writing on the object spelled out "Police Box". With a thump the sound stopped. A few seconds later a door opened and a tall young man wearing a long light brown coat strode out, hands in his pockets. He was known only as the Doctor.

"Hmm. That was a bit bumpy old girl" He complained "Trees, soil" He took a deep breath "But a definite hint of artificial atmosphere. So not a forest"

He bent down and put a hand on the floor and felt a vibration.

"That is caused by faster than light engines being pushed hard". He stated to himself. "So that means a ship"

The Doctor walked along a path and came to a bulkhead with bright red doors set into an alcove. As they approached the doors opened with a loud hish sound. The Doctor walked out into a wide, brightly lit corridor. It had doors spaced along each side, all in the same bright red.

"This seems very familiar" He said.

He walked and past a red flashing panel near the ceiling and rounded a corner and almost bumped into a young woman in a very short blue dress.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded after a second.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor" The Doctor said.

The young woman in the mini skirt moved to a wall and pushed white button.

"Intruder alert! Intruders on deck eight!"

"Now why did she have to do that?" The Doctor muttered.

On the bridge Uhura spoke rapidly to Kirk.

"Intruder alert on deck eight Captain, near section 12"

"Security on the double! Spock" Kirk and Spock headed for the turbolift.

They raced down to deck eight to find security were there pointing phasers at a tall man in a brown coat

He started grinning as soon as he saw Kirk and Spock.

"Oh this is GREAT!" He almost shouted.

Kirk walked up to him.

"Perhaps you'll tell me why it's great, who you are and how you got aboard my ship?" He said.

The tall man grabbed Kirks hand and began shaking it furiously.  
"Oh, this is fantastic"

Kirk pulled his hand back.

"Who are you" he said angrily.

"Oh sorry! I'm the Doctor" The Doctor said.

"How did you get aboard?" Kirk asked.

"Ah...well…I just sort of popped in…by mistake really"

"Really?" Kirk put his hands on his hips. He looked at the security officers.

"Take them to the brig" The guards began moving the Doctor away

The Doctor was still grinning happily at the situation. Kirk and Spock watched them move round the corner. "Perhaps he is linked to the Dalek ship" Spock suggested to Kirk. Kirk opened his mouth to answer but the sound of running feet and shouting stopped him. The Doctor came pounding round the corner and raced up to them. Both officers tensed themselves for an attack but the tall man stopped less than a metre from them and said, forcefully.

"Daleks? Here?"

"What do you know about Daleks?" Kirk asked.  
"Everything" The Doctor said, sadly.

Five minutes later the Doctor was in the brig and Kirk was back on the bridge.

"Status?"

"We are at warp eight point six. The Dalek ship has accelerated to eight point seven. Intercept in ten minutes" Sulu said.

"Uhura, send out an assistance call to any starships" Kirk said, he then called engineering.

"Scotty, how are the shields?"

"We still need another thirty minutes to get even partial shielding" Came the answer.

"Understood" Kirk said. "Spock, scan the alien ship for damage." Spock worked his console for a minute.

"I have scanned the vessel and they have some minor damage to their outer hull. It is made of a substance unknown to us that appears to be very durable, certainly stronger that our own duranium hull"

"How many torpedoes would it take to stop them?" Kirk asked.

"It is impossible to be certain without a full metallurgical analysis of the enemy's hull" Spock said.

"Can you guess?" Kirk asked.

Spock looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I will attempt estimation" He conceded. A few seconds later he spoke again.

"At least twenty set at full yield, all impacting at the same time"

Kirk knew that the ship's launching system wouldn't be repaired in time and even if it were would not be able to launch that many torpedoes fast enough. He thought for a second that punched his intercom.  
"Scotty!"

"Aye sir"

"I need twenty torpedoes in the hanger deck set for proximity detonation on the double!"

"Sir?!" Scott asked, confused.  
"No time to explain Mr Scott, on the double"  
"Aye sir"

Kirk looked at Spock. Even with their resident miracle worker on the job it would be touch and go whether the torpedoes were ready before the Daleks caught up.

In the brig the Doctor paced back and forth. Every now and then he looked at the white glowing forcefield holding them in and the large security guard outside. He was talking to himself

"So Doctor! You've ended up in _Star Trek, _but how?" He paced and thought

"The multiverse theory? The idea that anything that can happen does happen? But that would mean I'm not in my universe"

A dark look came over his face "But that means neither are the Daleks. The bumpy ride in the TARDIS" He smacked his forehead "A dimensional rip! They opened one! But what are they after?" He moved to the entrance. "Guard! I need to speak to the Captain! It's urgent!"

"Sorry, the Captain is a bit busy at the moment. Your friends are doing their best to blow us to bits" The guard said.

The Doctor leaned in and in a voice barely more that a hiss said.

"The Daleks are not my friends!"

On the bridge Spock said "Twelve minutes to intercept"

"Kirk to Scott, progress?" Kirk called.

"All twenty are in the hanger deck and set for proximity detonation" Came the answer. "But Captain if your planning what I think ye are, it wilna work. The hanger doors are too slow. When they open the decompression will suck the torpedoes into the doors".

"I know Mr Scott, Power up both shuttlecrafts. Spock with me" Kirk got up and made for the turbolift. Spock followed him.

"Hanger deck!" Kirk said.

"Captain I am most curious as to what you are planning" Spock said.

"We need to launch all those torpedoes at the same time and as quickly as possible. As Mr Scott said the doors open too slowly. But what it the doors weren't there? Kirk asked.

"The shuttle phasers" Spock said.

"Plus the shuttle, Mr Spock"

The turbolift doors opened and Kirk and Spock sprinted to the hanger deck entrance. Inside Mr Scott was stood with a team of engineers. The shuttlecraft_ Columbus_ stood behind them ready for launch. Between the shuttle and the hanger doors were twenty black rounded oblong shapes.

"I dinna know what ye have in mind Captain" Scott said.

"Scotty are theshuttles ready?"

"Aye sir both powered and ready for launch"

"Thanks Scotty. Clear the deck".

"Captain I do not believe the shuttles phasers will be strong enough the breach the hanger doors" Spock said.

"Breach the what…..?" Scott said.

Kirk ignored him.

"I know Spock but they will be enough to weaken them. I doubt they could then stand the impact of a shuttle at full speed."  
"Are ye mad?!" Scott protested, then added "Sir"

"We don't have a lot of choice Scotty."

"Aye sir" Scott said tiredly. He called his team and told them to leave. He stayed with Kirk and Spock.

"Are you planning to use the auto pilot?" Spock asked.

"No Mr Spock. After the phasers are fired the shuttle will need to be aimed at a specific spot"

"Jim, the shuttle is likely to be destroyed" Spock pointed out.

"Scotty I want you on the cargo transporter" Kirk said.

"But Captain the cargo transporter will bring you back here, onto this deck. You'll be blown out into space" Scotty said.

"How good is you aim Mr Scott?" Kirk asked, and pointed across the bay

The shuttlecraft _Galileo_ stood there on standby.

Scotty grinned as realisation dawned.

"It'll be perfect Captain".

The engineer and Spock left the deck and made their way to the hanger control gantry. Scott went to the transporter controls and Spock checked a reading. He pushed a comm button.

"Captain, Intercept in six minutes"

"Ok Spock, stand by!"

Kirk entered the shuttle and sat in the pilot's chair. He activated the ion drive and put it into slow astern. The shuttle moved slowly backwards until an alarm told Kirk he was only a metre from the rear bulkhead. He powered up the phasers and aimed for a point in the middle of the clamshell doors.

"A contact of twenty seconds as full power should be sufficient" Spock's voice said.

"Thank you Spock. Stand by to transport on my mark"

"Standing by Sir"

Kirk blew out a breath and pushed the firing button. Two beams lanced out and struck the hanger doors. They were unchanged for a few seconds then started to glow a deep red. A shrieking noise started as if the _Enterprise_ were screaming in pain. The doors glowed brighter and brighter.

Spock's voice started a countdown.

"Five….four….three…two….one!"

Kirk snapped off the Phasers and, aiming at the centre of the red spot, punched in full power. The shuttle leapt forward.  
"Now Scotty!" Kirk shouted.

He saw the huge doors get closer and closer and then felt the tingle of the transporter beam. He closed his eyes.

In the gantry Spock saw Scott activate the controls and watched as the _Columbus_struck the centre of the glow, and burst through, destroying most of the doors. He saw the torpedoes whipped up and out of the hole and into space.

"Spock to Captain Kirk" He called the _Galileo_.

"Kirk here. I assume it worked"

"Yes Sir. Torpedoes away". Spock moved to a nearby scanner display

"How long?"

The enemy ship should reach them…now" Spock said. "All torpedoes detonated….I am reading large secondary explosions…the enemy ship has been disabled"

"Thank you Mr Spock. But the next last second beam out is yours. Two is enough for me!" Kirk said, collapsing into the pilot's chair.

The _Enterprise_slowed to full stop and hung in space, as if resting. The problem of getting Kirk out of the depressurised shuttle bay was solved by Kirk piloting the _Galileo_ out into space, being beamed back and the shuttlecraft pulled back in by the hanger bay tractor beams. He was soon back in his chair on the bridge.

"Sulu set course for the enemy vessel, warp two" Scott has said that this would be the safest maximum speed for a while.

The starship turned and jumped to warp.

"Captain" Spock said. "I am heavy damage and low power levels on the enemy ship. They are, however still functioning, but barely" He warned.

Kirk was reminded of his tactics against the Romulan ship in the battle of Icarus IV.  
"They could be playing possum Mr Spock?"

"A possibility Captain".

"Mr Chekov, time to intercept?"

"Twenty six hours"

"Plenty of time to get us patched up, Mr Spock" Kirks mind shifted to his other problem. "For right now, let go see our guests".

The Doctor and was ushered to the briefing room on deck two. The doctor seemed entranced by his surroundings, smiling and pointing at things.

When they were in the turbolift he looked at the guard with him.

"Have you ever heard of Gene Roddenberry?" He asked.

"No, I haven't" The guard said

"Didn't think so…But just so you know…"

He pointed to the white flashes in the wall, indicating decks.

"…..That was my idea!" he whispered.

He was taken into the briefing room and two security officers with phasers stood watch over him.

A few minutes later Captain Kirk and Mr Spock arrived, followed by another, slightly older male in a short sleeved blue top.

"Bones!" The Doctor cried out, eliciting frowns from everyone

Kirk, Spock and McCoy took their seat, Spock by the computer as usual.

"Now" Kirk began "I'd like some answers, who are you? How did you get here? And what is that blue box on deck eight?"

The Doctor's face went from playful enjoyment to deadly serious.

"Captain, I am a Time Lord from the Planet Gallifrey, That blue box is my ship, my TARDIS. It allows me to travel to any point in time and space."

Kirk was taken aback Spock arched an eyebrow.

"I've never heard of Gallifrey or Time Lords. Where are you planet?"

"In the constellation Kastourborus, many many light years from here"

Spock activated his computer.

""Why are you here?" Kirk asked.

"I came here by accident" The Doctor said

Spock glanced over and caught his Captain's eye. Kirk knew this was a signal that Spock had information and wished to make it known.

"Doctor I have reviewed our long range scans and have found that we have no records of any planets in the constellation you mentioned. In fact we have evidence of a star going supernova there several million years ago"

"So Rassilon and Omega failed in this universe" The Doctor muttered.

"Can you explain that Doctor?" Kirk asked.

"Well there is or was a Gallifrey where we come from" The Doctor said

"Was?" McCoy spoke up. Kirk knew that his chief medical officer had good instincts and had picked up on something Kirk had missed.

The Doctor looked down.

"My planet was involved in a war…a time war….one that means Gallifrey will never be seen again"

"It was destroyed?" Spock asked.

"No…." The Doctor said "…..It was placed in a time lock. Trapped in a second of time that no one can enter or leave".

"I do not see how that would be possible" Spock said.  
The Doctor smiled.

"We weren't called Time Lords for nothing"

Spock looked at Kirk.

"Captain. I suggest that the Doctor and his companion are from a different universe to us"

The Doctor jumped up.

"Awww…you guys are just as good as I hoped!" He cried.

"Yes we are from a different universe but more importantly so are the Daleks"

Kirk frowned.

"Did they get here the same way as you?"

"Yes, well….we came the same as them….The Daleks have opened a dimensional rip, a doorway from our universe to yours"

"We've experienced them" Kirk said.

The Doctor smiled "Of course, Lazarus!"

"How do you know about that?" Kirk demanded.

"Umm…..my ship scanned your computer…sorry" The Doctor lied.

"You know the Daleks" Kirk asked.

"Oh yes….I know them very well…."The Doctor said.

"Were they the enemy in your time war?" McCoy asked.

"Yes…..they are the most evil creatures in I've ever encountered….If they are here your entire universe is at risk".

"But why would they be here?" Kirk asked.

"I don't know" The Doctor said. "Captain, May I ask what the Daleks were doing when you ran into them?"

Kirk hesitated, wondering what he should divulge. But there was something about the Doctor that indicated he could be trusted. Kirk relied on his intuition instincts as a starship captain and he listened to them now.

"They were attacking a Starfleet research base, on a planet a few light years from here."  
"Why that base I wonder?" The Doctor said.

"It is the site of a unique discovery called the guardian of forever" Spock said.

The Doctors face paled and he almost collapsed into a chair.

"No! It can't be…not here!"

"You know it Doctor?" Kirk asked

"Yes…but it's in my universe. I don't see how that can be…unless…The Doctor stopped. "Captain this could be worse than I thought…"  
"In what way Doctor? We know that the Guardian has the ability to open a portal to any point in a planets history. But if the Daleks rival your technology they can already do that surely" Kirk said.

"Captain…In my Universe the Guardians planet was set off limits by the Time Lords centuries ago…Mainly to preserve out mastery over time to be honest" The Doctor said. "We were amazed when it was discovered. The Time Lords were never able to find out who built it. But here….well there's no one to stop the Daleks finding it and using it"

"Using it for what? To change history? But that would only effect our universe" McCoy said.

The Doctor looked at him.

"No Dr McCoy. In every Universe"

"What are you suggesting Doctor?" Kirk said, as realisation dawned. He could see that Spock had figured it out as well.

"That the Guardian in your universe is the same one that's in my universe and the same one that's probably in every universe. It can send you to any point in space and time in any universe!"

"My god" McCoy whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two.

James Kirk studied the drifting Dalek vessel on the viewscreen. Close up it was a burnished bronze colour expect for scorch marks from where it had run slap bang into twenty photon torpedoes. Spock was at his station, monitoring readings. McCoy had joined them on the bridge and stood at his usual position at Kirk's left shoulder. When they had entered the bridge their strange visitor almost ran round the entire room in excitement. He began prodding and poking at things until Kirk asked him not to. Kirk couldn't remember the last time he had seen someone so crestfallen. The Doctor was an enigma. Obviously from a very highly advanced race, with access to amazing knowledge and technology. Kirk had asked Spock to surreptitiously scan the Doctors ship, with no results. This proved, as Spock pointed out, that the Doctors craft was advanced enough to be able to resist the _Enterprise__'s _internal scanners.

"Well Doctor?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor studied the vessel on the screen. It was stopped dead in space, with only a few lights illuminated.

"Looks like you managed to disable it Captain. I have to say that's very impressive."

"Thank you. Spock. Can you read any life signs?"

"Indeterminate Captain. My sensors are being impaired by some form of interference from the ship. I am reading low power levels throughout and some life support. But I cannot determine if the vessels engine and weapons systems are functioning"

"Captain. The Daleks are nothing if not resourceful. They will be repairing that ship as fast as possible believe me" The Doctor said.

"Well, we won't hang around" Kirk said. "Mr Chekov, set course for Forever base. Mr Sulu, engage at best speed"

"Aye sir" The officers answered and began to carry out their orders.

"Captain!" The Doctor burst out. "I've just had a thought. We need to know what the Daleks are up to and the answers are on that ship"

Spock moved down to the Captains chair.

"What are you suggesting?"

"If I could go aboard I could tap into their computer. Find out exactly what they have in mind and how to stop it" The Doctor said.

"Doctor, may I point out that you yourself stated that the Daleks are repairing their ship. The logical conclusion is that some of the crew are still alive. You will encounter resistance" Spock said.

"Aw I can pop in and out and they'll never know. Besides all the Daleks will be busy fixing things" The Doctor said.

"If that is true then this could be an invaluable opportunity to gather information Captain" Spock said.

"What about the Forever base Spock?" McCoy demanded "Jim, there could be survivors"

"Doctor McCoy. I must remind you that with the damage to our engines it will take the _Enterprise_ several hours to reach the base. Any survivors will be beyond our aid until that time. It is logical to obtain any information that will help us stop the Dalek plans and protect more lives" Spock said.

"Spock dammit! Even a few minutes could mean the difference between life and death for the survivors. We have to leave now!" McCoy argued.

"I submit that if the Daleks have a plan that endangers the whole universe then our responsibility is to the universe and not the forever base". Spock pointed out.

"Spock you really are an inhuman son of a..."  
"That's enough Bones" Kirk said. "You know Spock's right. If the Daleks can destroy the universe we need to know how to stop them.

"Even if it costs lives on the base?" McCoy demanded.

"Yes, even if" Kirk said. He turned to the Time lord who was watching the exchange.

"You know Captain. It's really interesting watching how you work. Passion and logic on each shoulder, then you take the best of both and make a decision" The Doctor said.

"Thank you, now Mr Spock, a security team and I will come with you. Mr Sulu, hold station. Doctor have you ever used a transporter?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor smiled.

"Once or twice, but the Daleks would detect your transporters beams. I've got a way to get us there in style." The Doctor grinned "Plus a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself has just occurred. Also it will mean Mr Spock can stop his sneaky scanning of my ship." He set off for the turbolift, leaving Kirk and McCoy smiling at the look of embarrassment that flickered over Spocks face.

Kirk and Spock stood outside the Doctor's ship. The Doctor had explained his plan and Kirk had added a twist. They were joined by three security officers and Mr Sulu. The security officers were carrying a large globe with an antigravity unit attached to the top. Inside was a quantity of matter and anti matter that Kirk intended to leave in the Dalek ship to destroy it. Kirk has left Sulu in command after reasoning that Mr Scott as better employed repairing his ship. All were armed with phasers. The Doctor frowned when he saw the red shirted men with the antimatter bomb.

"Umm..Captain…I don't think there'll be any need for your security to come along"  
"Why?" Kirk asked.

"Its just that I've found that red seems to stand out and make such a good target" The Doctor said.

"Sorry Doctor, they're coming" Kirk said.  
The Doctor looked sadly at the three men.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

With that he produced a key and opened the door to his ship. He stepped inside. Kirk and Spock followed and stopped short. Kirks mouth dropped open and Spock raised an eyebrow.  
"Fascinating" The Vulcan said.

The Doctor leapt up to a six sided console.

"I know! It's amazing! It's stupendous! Its bigger etc….."  
"Spock, how is this possible?" Kirk asked.

"I do not know Captain. I am unaware of any theory to explain this"

"Doctor?" Kirk asked.

"Ah, welcome to my TARDIS Captain Kirk. That's Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It allows me to any point in space and time. It's also dimensionally transcendental"  
"That sir is not logical" Spock said.

"So you know Mr Spock it isn't" The Doctor threw his arms wide "But isn't she great!?"

He whirled around the console and Spock moved to join him. Kirk turned and gave some last minute orders to Sulu. Behind him he heard Spock and the Doctor talking.

"What does this do Doctor?"

"That is my relative stabiliser"

"And this?"  
"That is my materialisation enabler"

"And this device?"

"That is my popcorn maker"

Kirk shook his head.

"Sulu. Hold position here but keep on red alert. The Doctor has explained his plan so stand by for our signal. With luck we will in and out in a few minutes. Once we're aboard set course for the Forever base at maximum warp"

"Aye sir. We'll be standing by" Sulu left the TARDIS, gazing around in amazement.

Kirk joined Spock at the console.

"Are you sure this will work Doctor?"

"What?...Oh yes…no problem….I think"

He wrenched a lever.

"Ready? Here we go?"

A deep grinding noise emitted from the room and the pillar in the centre console began moving up and down. The ship started shaking and all aboard grabbed onto something.

"When we land stay perfectly still!" The Doctor shouted "They will detect the TARDIS but the old girl and I still have a few tricks!"

The grinding noise ended with a loud thump. The started again and Kirk looked around to see the room fading before his eyes. It was almost as if one room merged into another. He found that he was suddenly standing in a metallic hallway, dim overhead lighting creating shadows in bronzed archways. Everything was made of the same metal. There were no portholes, carpeting or signs of any consideration for the crews comfort.

"Doctor what just happened"? Kirk asked.

"Well, The Daleks will detect the temporal signature of my TARDIS. So as soon as we landed I set her to dematerialise around us. She will now appear and disappear throughout the Dalek ship for the next fifteen minutes or so. The Daleks will chase her all over the vessel, hoping to capture her and kill me"

The Doctor looked very smug. He spun around and saw a data port nearby. He moved to it and pulled something out of his inside pocket. The Doctor pointed the device at the port. Kirk heard a weird high pitched sound.

"Security. Phasers on full. Hold this position. Spock!" He moved to the Doctor, Spock followed scanning with his tricorder.

"Doctor?" Kirk saw a display screen reeling information faster than he could follow. It seemed the Doctor has no problems reading it.

"This is very bad Captain. The Daleks mean to create a stable dimensional bridge to every universe. They can then invade at any point in that Universes timeline." He frowned. "And I have absolutley no idea how to stop them"

"Captain. I am reading several objects heading in our direction. Two hundred metres distance."  
The Doctor held up his device, activated it for a second then looked at readout.

"Five Daleks heading our way" He said. "They must have detected my sonic screwdriver, hmm…didn't think they could do that"

"Have you finished?" Kirk said,

"Yes, its time to go"

"Good" Kirk said.

"Captain I am also detecting human life signs aboard this vessel." Spock said.

"What? Where?" The Doctor asked.

"Two decks below us, at least four humans."

"Spock, could they be from the Forever base?" Kirk asked.

"A distinct possibility" Spock said.

Kirk thought for a second.

"Doctor how well do you know this ship?"

"Better than id like to Captain".

"Good. We need to rescue this people" He looked at the Doctor

"It's my turn for a brilliant idea"

A few minutes later Kirk and the Doctor were running down a metallic corridor, behind them a screeching, rasping voice said.

"You will be exterminated! Exterminated!"

Kirk had told the Doctor to give Spock directions on how to get to the prisoners. In the mean time Kirk and the Doctor would run around the ship, creating as much havoc as possible. Once Spock had saved the captive humans he would contact Kirk and they would all escape together.

They rounded a corner and for the first time Kirk saw a Dalek. It was less than two metres high, with a domed top that had a stalk protruding from it and a base covered in half spheres with some form of sucker on one arm and what could only be a weapon on the other. It was the same bronze colour as the rest of the ship.

Kirk whipped up his phaser and fired. The beam hit the main body, with no effect.

"Aim for the eye stalk on the top!" The Doctor cried.

Kirk fired and the red beam struck the Dalek eye stalk. The end exploded and the Dalek shrieked. Kirk fired again and the Dalek stopped dead.

They ran past it, through a door and into another corridor. Behind them more Daleks pursued.

"You are the Doctor! You are an enemy of the Daleks! You will be EXTERMINATED!"

"Yes, yes heard that all before!" The Doctor said.

They ran on and passed by a window. Kirk glanced outside and saw his starship hanging in space. For a second he thought he saw tiny flares of light heading for his ship, but then they were past and the _Enterprise_ was out of view.

"What exactly are these things Doctor?" Kirk panted.

The Doctor didn't seem to be out of breath at all.

"They are mutants living inside the metal travel machines. Their own planet was irradiated centuries ago and this was their means of survival".

"Have they always been evil?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, ever since I've known them" The Doctor said. They sprinted round a corner and stopped dead in front of a group of ten Daleks

"Whoops!" The Doctor said "Wrong turn! This way!" He spun and ran at full speed through an open archway, Kirk on his heels. They heard voices shrieking after them.

"Halt! You will be exterminated! Exterminated!"

The Time lord and the Starship Captain ran through another open doorway and into a large storage bay. The Doctor turned and activated his sonic screwdriver. The door to the bay slammed shut behind them and a shower of sparks erupted from the locking mechanism.

"That should hold them for a while" The Doctor said. They suddenly heard the sound of energy weapons firing and hitting the door again and again.

"Good. Mr Spock should be calling any time n…" Kirk was interrupted by the sound of his communicator chirping.

"Kirk here"  
"Spock here. We have recovered the prisoners. They are survivors from the base. We have primed the antimatter device and are ready to leave" Kirk could here sounds of phasers firing and the harsh whining of an unfamiliar weapon.

"We are under attack by the Daleks" Spock reported.

"Understood, stand by!" Kirk said. He closed the channel and opened one to the _Enterprise_.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_"

"Sulu here"

"Lock on and beam us home!"

"Aye sir, stand by" there was a brief silence.

"Captain the transporter room reports that they have locked onto Mr Spock and his party but cannot lock onto your signal. Some type of interference"

"What?" The Doctor began scanning with his screwdriver.

"No, no, no! This storage bay is full of Orloth crystals, its energy signature is blocking you transporter!"

He held up the screwdriver and it began making a pulsing sound.

"Sulu, beam Mr Spock and his party aboard immediately!" Kirk ordered  
"Aye sir" Another silence "They are aboard"

Spock's voice came over the intercom.

"Captain. I will prepare a security squad to assist you"

"Captain, there are five thousand Daleks on this ship" The Doctor said.  
Kirk understood immediately.

"Negative Spock! They'll be outnumbered. Have Scotty try to break through the interference"

In the transporter room McCoy was hopping from foot to foot while Spock studied the scanning viewer.  
"Yes sir. Captain, I am reading higher power levels from the Dalek ship. I would surmise that they have nearly finished repairs and will be fully functional in a few minutes"

Kirk didn't hesitate.

"Spock! Do not put the ship in danger. Set course for the Forever base and engage at full speed, detonate the device when you at a safe distance".

"Jim….Mr Scott can punch through the interference. He just requires some more time"  
"No Spock! Get my ship out of danger! Contact Starfleet and request assistance but leave now"

In the transporter room, McCoy looked stricken.

"Spock, we can't leave them!"

"Doctor McCoy. I estimate that the Daleks will be able to fire weapons in three point two minutes. Mr Scott?"  
The engineer was busy at the transporter controls.

"I cannae break through in less then five minutes Mr Spock."

"I heard that Spock" Kirks voice sounded out over the intercom." Leave now, that is a direct order!"

"Understood" Spock said, quietly.

"Jim!" McCoy cried out, anguished.

"It's ok Bones. This is the way is has to be" In the background the sound of the dull thudding on the door grew louder, followed by a loud explosion. Then a voice shrieked over the speaker "EXTERMINATE!" followed by silence.

McCoy felt tears in his eyes, Scott looked stricken. Only Spock was able to call the bridge and order the _Starship Enterprise_ to leave her Captain and the Doctor to their fate.

On the Dalek ship, the door exploded inwards. The force hurled Kirk and the Doctor back, the communicator flying from Kirks hand onto the floor.

A Dalek shrieked "EXTERMINATE!" The Doctor and Kirk rolled behind a metal crate. The Daleks moved into the room. Kirk popped up and fired, disabling a Dalek. They fired back, beams lancing off the crate.  
"Any thoughts" Kirk shouted over the noise.

"One or two!" The Doctor cried back, still holding the screwdriver in the air.

Kirk kept firing as fast as he could.

The Doctor pointed at a crate ten metres ahead them.

"Shoot that!"

Kirk responded and fired. The crate exploded, destroying two Daleks. But more kept entering.

"I can't hold them off forever" Kirk said.

The Doctor suddenly smiled.

"Its ok! I have an idea" He peeked round the crate "Daleks! You know who I am! Stop firing and we will surrender!" He shouted.  
"Like hell we will!" Kirk said,

"Trust me Captain"

The firing stopped.

"You will stand!" A grating voice said.

The Doctor put his screwdriver in his pocket and stood raising his hands.

"Stand up Captain"

Kirk glared at him, and quickly pushing a button on his phaser, stood, hiding the weapon behind his back.

Ahead of him was a scene of carnage. Five Daleks were destroyed and scorch marks marred the bulkheads.

"You are the Doctor" A Dalek said.

"Yes, I do know that, thank you!" The Doctor said.

The Dalek swivelled its eye towards Kirk.

"Identify yourself" It said.

"Captain James T Kirk of the _Starship Enterprise_"

The Dalek was silent for a minute.

"Receiving orders" The Doctor whispered. He became aware of a low humming sound.

"Silence!" The Dalek screamed "Doctor, you will be taken to a holding cell. We will drain all knowledge from your mind. Captain Kirk. You will be exterminated!"

"Wait, wait wait!" The Doctor said "The Captain has quite a bit of knowledge himself you know "  
"What the hell?" Kirk bristled  
"Irrelevant" the Dalek said.

The low hum had now grown and was getting louder.

"What is that noise?" The Dalek leader asked.

James Kirk looked at the Doctor and held up his overloading phaser. It was seconds away from exploding when a familiar grinding noise filled the room. The TARDIS began to materialise around them.

"Alert! Alert!" The Daleks cried. Kirk became aware of walls appearing.

He threw the phaser as far away as he could as the TARDIS became solid around him,

Outside the Daleks rumbled back and forth. They began firing at the TARDIS, the energy bouncing off the blue box. The TARDIS disappeared, leaving the Daleks wondering where the high pitched whine was coming from right up until the phaser exploded.

Inside the TARDIS the Doctor whooped with joy.

"That's my GIRL!" he shouted,

"How did you do that?" Kirk asked.

"My screwdriver acted like a homing beacon for the TARDIS. I just needed a few minutes till she arrived".

Kirk sat down in a nearby chair.

"Is your life always like this? Cheating death all the time?"

"Captain" The Doctor laughed "Look who's talking!"

The Doctor set course for the _Enterprise__._

On the _Enterprise_ there was an outpouring of joy as the TARDIS landed and delivered Kirk and the Doctor in one piece. This was tempered by the fact that two of the security officers had not returned to the ship alive. Kirk took the news hard as always. He had glared at the Doctor as if somehow the Time Lord was responsible. Mr Scott had worked a miracle and increased the _Enterprise__'s _speed to warp five. She would reach the Forever base in a few hours. On the bridge Spock was looking in his hooded scanner. Kirk was in his chair as McCoy fussed around him. The Doctor was stood next to Spock, entering the data gleaned from the Dalek ship into the main computer. Any chance of a celebration at the Doctor and Kirks close escape was taken by Spock's resonant voice.

"Captain, the Dalek ship had powered up and is pursuing. They are travelling at warp twelve and will intercept in thirty minutes"

Kirk nodded, grimly. "Frying pan, fire" he thought.

"Stand by to detonate the device" He ordered.

On the bridge Spock held his hand over a control. Kirk leant forward in his seat. The Doctor turned from his task and watched the viewscreen. He didn't feel any pity or sympathy for the Daleks.

"Reverse angle on the viewer" Kirk ordered.  
Sulu pushed a button and the screen shifted to show a view of the last half of the starships nacelles and stars streaking away in to the distance.

"Now Spock"

Spock pushed the button.

Inside the ship several Daleks had gathered round the antimatter device, scanning it and awaiting orders. Inside were magnetic bottles of matter and antimatter. The power was cut off and the magnetic fields failed. The particles mingled and instantly annihilated each other. The resultant energy release was easily sufficient to completely destroy the Dalek cruiser.

On the _Enterprise_viewscreen a large flare of bright light showed the death of the Dalek ship. Kirk eased back into his seat and felt the sense of relief flow over the bridge.

He pushed a button on his chair.

"All hands, this is the Captain. The enemy vessel has been destroyed. Once again you have shown yourselves to be the best crew in the fleet. But our job isn't over. The Daleks have a plan that involves the Forever base. A plan that we have to stop. I am committing this vessel to that end. It will be dangerous but that's why we are here, to put ourselves in harms way and protect those who cannot protect themselves. I need your best efforts over the next few hours. Captain out".

The Doctor and Spock moved to join Kirk.

"Well Doctor?" Kirk asked.

"Captain, by now the Daleks will have set up a command post on the planet"  
"How do they intend to open a multidimensional portal with the Guardian?"

Spock asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"Well they have dimensional rift technology in the form of a rift projector"  
"A what?" Kirk asked.

"Basically they locate an area of dimensional instability and project the beam into it. If it is weak enough it punches through. If not then there is a very very big bang" The Doctor explained.

"How big?" Kirk said

"Oh they've destroyed a few solar systems in my universe when they've got it wrong" The Doctor said, matter of factly.

Kirk was shocked.

"Don't they care about the inhabitants?"

"Most evil beings in the universe? I did say" The Doctor said. He suddenly looked shocked, as a horrifying idea came into his head.

"If they fire the dimensional beam into the portal created by the guardian it could open that portal up into another universe. The Daleks could then invade and use that's universes Guardian to open another portal and then go on to another. On the other hand it could cause a cascading explosion that would destroy this universe then the next and the next…infinite destruction for all time!"

Even Spock looked mildly shocked.

"How long do we have?" Kirk said.

"Well, they usually need time to calibrate the projector. With the amount of time they've been on the planet. I'd say we had about two hours" The Doctor said.

"Eta at present speed?" Kirk asked Sulu.

He could see Spock slightly shaking his head out as Sulu answered.

"Four hours fifty two minutes" Sulu said.

Kirk looked at Spock, and for one of the few times in his life he had no idea what to do next.

In the _Enterprise__'s _hanger bay the lights and life support had been shut off to save power. In the darkness a blue light flickered into life, another one followed, then another and another, until ten blue glowing lights shone out. The lights began moving towards the airlock door.

The Daleks had boarded the _Enterprise__. _


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three.

In the sickbay of the _Enterprise_ Leonard McCoy treated the four Starfleet personnel rescued from the Dalek ship. There were three technicians and one officer who had identified himself as Tom Lawson; He was the base commander and leader of the research project. McCoy had treated all four for shock and some bruising. He was now starting of more in depth scans just to make sure that there were no hidden injuries.

He approached Lawson.

"Commander, how are you feeling?"

Lawson led on the biobed, still in his blue science uniform. It was dusty and stained with grime and sweat and also with what McCoy was pretty sure was blood. He was tall and stocky, the Starfleet fitness training evident in his condition. Around 35 years old and born and raised on Alpha Centauri Lawson was a career officer who had jumped at the chance to work at the Forever base.  
"I feel fine thanks Doctor. How is the rest of my team?"

"They're all a bit shaken up and I'm about to start a more thorough scan to check for anything nasty you may have picked up on that ship. I though I'd start with you first".

"Id rather you attended to my team first Doctor. Leave me till last".

McCoy looked at Lawson and smiled.

"I can see that you and Captain Kirk will get on very well".

"I'm sure the Captain will have a lot of questions for me. Can I see him?"

Lawson asked.

"He's on the bridge at the moment, trying to figure out how to sort out this mess" McCoy smiled. "Though it seems we're lucky enough to have a Dalek expert on board, calls himself the Doctor. Although what in blazes he's a doctor off he hasn't explained"

"The Doctor" Lawson said, tilting his head to one side.

"Yes, seems to be a big help" McCoy said. "Anyway if you need anything just call". McCoy left the ward and went to his office. Lawson lay silent, his head still tilted. He slowly raised his hand to his left ear.

A few minutes later McCoy re-entered the room and was stunned to find Lawson gone.

In the briefing room Montgomery Scott was talking to Jim Kirk. Spock was at his computer and the Doctor was lounging on a chair, feet on the table, eyes closed.

"Captain, I've got two crews working on the engines but to fully repair them we'll need to put into a starbase. I've got the torpedo launchers working and phasers are at fifty percent. Shields are up but if we end up in a fight they willna last long"

"Is there anything you can do to increase our speed Scotty?" Kirk asked.

"I dinna think so sir, I'm pushing them as it is at warp five"

"Understood Scotty" Kirk knew that the engineer would have done everything he could.

"Yes, that could work" The Doctor mumbled.  
"Doctor?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor's eyes opened and he took his feet down and jumped up.

"Well, I have a thought about how to increase our speed"

"And what might that be?" Scott asked slightly aggrieved.

"Well, I could link my TARDIS into your systems, really get some speed out of your fine ship"

"How fast?" Kirk asked

The Doctor looked thoughtful.

"Aw…I should say about warp fifteen on your scale"

"Ochh are ye daft!?" Scott exclaimed.

"Doctor, our vessel is not built to take the kind of stresses that speed would bring" Spock said, calmly.

"Ah, Mr Spock" The Doctor smiled "Have you ever heard of a structural integrity field?"

"I am aware of the theory, however it is still in the early stages of development" Spock said.

"I can use my TARDIS to create a field around the _Enterprise_. She could then withstand the higher speed" He paused "For a time".

"How long a time?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor pursed his lips.

"About thirty minutes, after that your systems will overload, the field will fail and…"  
"And?"

"The…_Enterprise_will disintegrate within minutes" The Doctor said quickly "But I can shut of the power to the warp engines long before that! Say twenty five minutes at warp fifteen, then the rest at your top speed. No problem!" He finished happily.

"Captain!" Scott almost wailed.

Kirk was silent, weighing the decision.

"Sorry Scotty, I don't see any other alternatives. Doctor what do you need?"

In the great secondary hull of the starship two of the engineering crew were running damage control scans outside the hanger deck.

Ensign Inal held a tricorder in his claws and noted a strange reading. He showed it to his colleague crewman Verboom.

"Alex, please look at tricorder and confirm what I see" Inal was a native of planet Awre and its speech patterns took some getting used to.

Alex Verboom checked the device.  
"Its shows a power drain" He pushed a button "Coming from the hanger deck"

"Captain ordered power down in deck. Scott Mr did it itself" Inal said,

"I know, so what's draining the power?" Verboom wondered.

"Let us turbolift to booth and look what is going on" Inal said.

The two of them took the lift to the observation booth. They entered it and saw that the hanger deck was brightly lit.

"Correct not!" Inal said.

The crewmen looked through the transparent aluminum window

"Oh my god" Verboom said. Below them were ten Daleks. Two were at a bulkhead that they'd cut into, tapping into the power grid. The rest were gathered round what looked like a large bronze cabinet. Verboom punched an intercom switch.

"Captain Kirk! Captain Kirk!"

"Kirk here"

"Sir we're on the hanger deck! There are intruders….." As Verboom spoke a Dalek eye stalk swung up and looked directly at them.

"Exterminate!"

Green energy lanced out and destroyed the aluminum window and killing the Verboom and Inal instantly.

In the briefing room the transmission was cut off by an explosion. Kirk reacted instantly.

"All hands red alert! Intruders on the hanger deck! All security personnel on the double!" He looked at the Doctor

"Daleks!" The Doctor whispered.  
"Doctor, you and Mr Scott do whatever is necessary to get us to the Forever planet. Spock you're with me"  
"Captain! I know the Daleks! I need to see what they're up to!" The Doctor said.

"No Doctor. The bigger threat is with the Guardian. You need to get us there as soon as possible. My crew and I can handle them"

Kirk and Spock rushed out leaving the Doctor with a not so happy chief engineer.

"Now what exactly is it you're planning to do to my engines?" Scott demanded.

Kirk and Spock raced to the hanger deck to find Lt Commander Demir, chief of security outside the hanger deck with a squad of ten security men, all armed with phaser rifles.

"Report!" Kirk barked.

"Sir, we're reading ten Daleks inside and one unknown object. They have made no attempt to leave" Demir said.

"Let's see it" Kirk said.

They moved to a bulkhead and Demir activated a view screen. The picture showed the mysterious bronze box and the Daleks around it. The _Columbus _and _Galileo_ seemed to have been cannibalised for parts

"They appear to be guarding that object" Spock said.

"Any ideas what it is?" Kirk said.

"That is a Dalek factory ship" A familiar voice said from behind them.

They turned to see the Doctor.

"I thought I told you to go to engineering" Kirk said.

"Yes…you did….but Mr Scott can make a start without me, plus I really needed to see what the Daleks are up to" The Doctor said.

Kirk felt a touch of anger.

"I don't like having my orders disobeyed Doctor"

"Just as well you can't give me any then isn't it?" The Doctor said, brightly.

Kirk bit back a reply, aware that this was not the time to remind the Doctor who was in command here.

"Can you explain you statement Doctor? What is a factory ship?" Spock interceded,

"It's exactly what it sounds like! That ship is currently building an army of Daleks!"

"What? How….?" Kirk began, confused.

"The vessel is dimensionally transcendental like your TARDIS" Spock surmised.

"Exactly Mr Spock!" The Doctor said.

"The points of light!" Kirk said.

"Sorry?" The Doctor said.

"When we were aboard the Dalek ship I saw several points of light heading for the _Enterprise_! That must have been Daleks! They boarded us through the damaged hanger bay doors!" Kirk said.

"Afraid so!" The Doctor said studying the screen. "Hmm they've erected a forcefield over your hanger doors. There's probably an atmosphere in there now"

Kirk saw what looked like the shield generators from the shuttles by the hanger bay doors. They had been modified and were creating the field that held in the atmosphere.

"Why did the Daleks bring the factory to the _Enterprise__?" _Spock asked "They could not have known that we would destroy their vessel"

"Plans within plans Mr Spock" The Doctor said "The Daleks always have several strategies. They didn't think you could damage their ship as badly as you did. They realised that there was a chance their own ship would be destroyed so they transported the factory here to use your power to activate it and build their army. They could then take over your ship and use it to transport their troops to the Forever planet."

"We have to destroy it!" Kirk stated.

"Yes, but that wont be easy" The Doctor said. "The Daleks will fight to the death to guard it" He looked very sad "You will loose a lot of crew Captain"

"Maybe not" Kirk said. He punched an intercom button on the wall.

"Kirk to transporter room"  
"Kyle here sir "

"Mr Kyle. Lock onto the hanger deck and beam out any objects inside"  
"Aye sir…..Captain I cannot get a lock, some type of scattering field has been put in place"  
Kirk looked at the Doctor

"The Daleks have a lot of experience with transporter devices. They would have scanned your transporter beam and found a way to block it"

Kirk looked very grim.

"Mr Demir. Call for more security. Tell them to prepare to repel boarders"

"Captain. You have to hurry. If that factory activates then hundreds of Daleks will overrun the ship. I'd say you had about fifteen minutes" The Doctor said.

"I understand Doctor. Now will you please go to engineering?" Kirk said.

"OK, but call me if things get out of hand!" The Doctor ran off.

Kirk looked at Spock, who arched an eyebrow.

The Doctor had raced to his TARDIS and set the controls for a short hop. When He and Captain Kirk had returned from the Dalek ship he had landed the TARDIS back in the arboretum. The Doctor pulled lever and hung as the TARDIS engines wheezed and moaned and a few seconds later the blue box appeared in main engineering. The Doctor opened the door to see Mr Scott and the engine room crew stood still open mouthed.

"Once this is over, ye have to tell me how it does that!" Scott said.

"I would Mr Scott. But I'm afraid you might not understand" The Doctor said "Now….where is your shield generator control?" He moved off leaving a spluttering engineer in his wake.  
Soon the Time lord and Starfleet engineer were busy jury rigging systems to do things they had never been designed to do. All were so busy they didn't notice a blue shirted figure sneak through the open door of the TARDIS.

Soon everything was ready

"Id surely like to get my hands on one of those wee things" Scott said, looking at the Doctor sonic screwdriver.

"What this little thing?" The Doctor smiled "Its pretty good isn't it! It evens cleans my teeth! Right" He said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to initiate a power transfer from the TARDIS to your power grid and shield generators. I've configured them to deploy a skin tight internal field through the spaceframe"

"Which I've no idea how you did" Scott said.

"Well…Because I'm very clever is the main reason. But once established it will roughly double you hull strength and at the same time I've finessed your warp field to give greater efficiency. She should hit warp fifteen easily" He moved towards the TARDIS. "I've set a timer for twenty five minutes, five minute safety margin"

"I still dinna like it "Scott grumbled "But I guess we dinna have much choice, Engineering to Captain Kirk"

"Kirk here"

"Everything's ready Captain"  
"Will it work Scotty?"

"Our guest thinks it will" The Scotsman lowered his voice "The Doctor really knows his stuff"

"Thank you!" Came a cry

Scott grimaced.

"Very well Mr Scott. At your discretion, execute"

"Aye sir" Scott sighed.

He turned to see the Doctor enter the TARDIS and shut the door behind him.

Inside the time ship the Doctor went to the console and activated his viewscreen.  
"Are ye ready Mr Scott?" The Doctor said, in very good Scottish accent.

"Aye, we're ready"

"Then ALONSEE!" The Doctor cried and pulled lever.

Instantly all the energy level gauges on the _Enterprise_ spiked and the starship leapt forward. Scott watched the readout as he heard Sulu's voice from the bridge call out the speed.

"Warp eight….nine….eleven…..holding at warp fifteen" Scott could hear the wonder in the helmsman's voice.

So far, so good he thought. Now all we have to do is repel a Dalek invasion force from the ship, hope she holds together at unheard of speeds and oh yes save every universe in existence. Scott shook his head. All in a days work.

Near the Hanger deck Kirk and Spock felt the thrum of power fill the ship. Beside them a team of thirty security guards, all dressed in red phaser armour stood to attention. Each was armed with a phaser rifle and looked ready for war.

Kirk addressed them.

"The situation is this. Inside the hanger deck an enemy force has tapped into our energy grid and is using it to power up an army. They have to be stopped. The vessel is guarded by Daleks who will battle to the death to defend it. Aim for the centre stalk in the dome at the top. This seems to be their eye. If the vessel opens then the ship will be overrun" He paused.

"If that happens then I will have no choice but to destroy the _Enterprise__. _In that event, there will be no one to stop the Daleks plans and our universe and countless others may also be destroyed. I am proud to serve with you all. I couldn't ask for a more dedicated crew. Good luck to us all"

Kirk hefted a phaser rifle and moved to Spock who held phaser armour for him. Kirk put it on.

"Captain. I would ask you to reconsider you decision to lead the attack. Mr Demir is a very experienced security officer who is more than capable of commanding the assault"

"Spock, how many times have we had this discussion?"

"At last count this will make it the twentieth time" Spock said.

"And how many times have I listened?" Kirk asked.

"Never"

Kirk smiled

"Not this time either" He turned to Demir and his soldiers. "Ready?"

"Aye sir" Came the answer. Kirk turned back to Spock.

"Monitor the battle from here. Have Uhura transmit all logs to Starfleet and if it looks like you have no choice then order self destruct"

"Understood"

Kirk moved to the airlock door, his men behind him, ready to follow him into hell.

"Let's go!"

The door opened and they charged in.

Inside the TARDIS the Doctor monitored the timer closely. It had been running for five minutes. The Doctor fussed around the console, tweaking controls.

"Fifteen minutes to go" Mr Scott announced over the intercom. The Doctor didn't answer. The engineer had been counting down every minute, as if he thought the Doctor wasn't paying attention.

"Fourteen minutes"

"I KNOW!" The Doctor said _sotto voce_

"Thirteen minutes"

"Arrgh! The Doctor spun round in frustration.

In the Hanger deck the sound was deafening. The whine of phaser fire and shriek of Dalek disruptors was threaded through with the noise of Dalek and human screams as both fell to enemy fire. Kirk had run in, firing for all he was worth. Behind him his team had sent out withering fire that had initially driven the Daleks back. But they soon regrouped and counter attacked, felling several men. There was little cover on the deck and Kirk's strategy was to keep his team moving, firing as they ran. The Daleks found moving targets harder to hit. Four Daleks had been destroyed and the remaining six were circled around the factory ship, firing as fast as they could. Kirk found himself taking cover behind the remains of the _Galileo_. Demir joined him.

"I've got ten men down Captain, but there's only six Dalek left! We're winning!"

"So it seems" Kirk said. "We've got ten minutes left! We've got to destroy the rest of the Daleks!"

Inside the TARDIS the Doctor saw the countdown tick down to ten minutes. He checked the power levels. The _Enterprise_ was handling the extra power well for the time being. He tapped the console, and couldn't help worrying about how the battle was going on the hanger deck.

There was now only one Dalek left alive. Kirk's men advanced in a circle. The Dalek had too many targets and didn't know which to shoot at.

"Surrender!" Kirk called out.

"Noo!" The Dalek said and levelled its gun at Kirk. Beside him several men fired and blew the Dalek into pieces.

Kirk looked around him. He saw that at least fifteen red shirted figures on the floor. He flipped open his communicator and tied it into the ships internal system.

"Kirk to sickbay"  
"McCoy here"

"Medical teams to the hanger deck on the double"

"We're on our way Jim. How many hurt?"

"We've got at least fifteen casualties" Kirk said.

"Ok, oh by the way Commander Lawson has disappeared from sickbay. I've got security looking for him but nothing so far"

Kirk rubbed his forehead.

"One thing at a time Bones, he can wait"

Kirk shut his communicator to find that Spock had joined him.

"We have six minutes left Captain"

"No problem Spock, Mr Demir?" Demir moved to Kirk and waited, Kirk lifted his phaser rifle. Demir did the same and they aimed at the factory ship.

"Full power!" Kirk ordered and they fired. Blue beams lanced out and struck the cabinet. The phasers whined with power but had no effect on the box.

Spock was scanning with his tricorder.

"Captain!" He shouted over the noise "Cease fire!"

Kirk and Demir stopped shooting.

"Spock?" Kirk asked.

"Captain. My scans indicate that the phaser fire will be unable to destroy the vessel. The hull is too dense"  
Kirk chewed his lip, he knew that time was ticking down rapidly.

"The forcefield!" Spock what explosive charges do we have?"  
"None on the hanger deck Sir, the closest armoury is the next deck up. I do no believe we have sufficient time to retrieve the charges"

Kirk thought again and hefted his rifle.

"The power packs! Set one to explode and place it on the generators. We should be able to blow everything out!"

Kirk and Spock ran to the edge of the hanger deck. Kirk found it strange that he could see the vacuum of space through the shimmering blue field.

"Demir!" He shouted. "Evacuate the men! Doctor McCoy is on his way!"

"Aye sir" Demir began to get his men out, some of them carrying the dead and wounded.

Kirk passed Spock his phaser rifle and watched as the Vulcan expertly stripped out its power pack.

"I will set it for a remote overload using my tricorder" Spock explained.

"Hurry Spock. We have four minutes left"

"Done Captain" Spock placed the black power pack against the generators. They ran to the main door and found that all personnel were evacuated and accounted for.

McCoy and his team were already at work on the wounded. To Kirk's dismay he saw five bodies covered by orange sheets. He turned to Spock.

"Now"

Spock pressed a control and they moved to the nearby viewscreen. Kirk imagined that he could hear the whine of the overload and was reminded that it wasn't that long ago that he had nearly died by setting his own phaser to self destruct on the Dalek ship. A minute later the deck rocked and the viewscreen lit up as the power pack exploded. The generator was destroyed and once again the howling wind ripped through the hanger deck and everything was sucked out. Everything that is except the Dalek factory ship.

"Spock!" Kirk said.

Frowning, Spock checked his tricorder.

"Captain the vessel is creating a powerful magnetic field that prevented it from being evacuated to space".

"Options Spock!"

Spock thought for a second.

"It should be possible for us to use the anti gravity plating on the hanger deck to create an opposite magnetic effect. This would have the result of lifting the vessel. We could then use.."

"…The hanger deck tractor beam to push it out into space!" Kirk finished.

"Yes sir"

"Do it Spock" We only have two minutes!"

Spock moved to a control console and began making the modifications. Kirk paced the deck behind him.

"Come on Spock!"

"Engaging anti mag now" Spock said.

Kirk watched as the factory ship began to slowly drift upwards until it was about a metre of the metal deck. He hadn't realised he was holding his breath and was just letting it out when a crack appeared down the length of one of the faces of the factory. The crack widened and Kirk realised with horror that the factory ships doors were opening.

"Spock Hurry!"

Spock activated the tractor beam emitter at the rear of the hanger deck. It was used to guide in shuttlecraft during landing. He set it to repel and the graviton beam hit the factory ship and began moving it slowly towards space. Kirk saw that the doors were now fully open and a Dalek was in the opening. Behind it Kirk caught a glimpse of a vast space, with thousands of Daleks moving towards the door. The Dalek in the opening began moving out but it was too late. The factory ship was pushed out into space. Just as it was about to exit the starship's warp bubble the Dalek in the opening raised its eye stalk upwards and sent a signal. The factory ship was then torn apart as it fell from warp.

Kirk leaned against the bulkhead and looked at Spock. The Vulcan was his usual calm self.

"Well done Mr Spock! That was too close!"

Thank god that was over Kirk thought

In the TARDIS the Doctor looked at the readout. One minute to go. He positioned himself near the lever, readying to cut the power. Behind him a figure rose up. It was Lawson. The Commander stole up behind the Time Lord. He got closer and closer. The Doctor stiffened as he became aware of a presence behind him. He spun and Lawson leapt forward, his hand lashing out, hitting the Doctor in the face and knocking him to the floor.

Unaware of what was going on inside the TARDIS Mr Scott watched the clock like a hawk. Thirty seconds, twenty, ten, zero!

"Now Doctor" He called

No response

"Doctor now!" Scott said

Still nothing. Scott was worried now and ran to the TARDIS door and began banging on it.

"Doctor! Cut the power! Cut the power now!"

The Doctor scrambled up and saw Lawson between him and the console.

"Look I don't know what the problem is but you really need to let me shut the power off!"

Lawson responded, his voice echoing with a metallic rasp.

"You are an enemy of the Daleks! You will be exterminated!"

"Oh no!" The Doctor said.

Kirk was just getting his breath back when the intercom whistled.

"Engineering to Captain Kirk!" Scott's voice was frantic.

Kirk pushed a comm button.

"Kirk here"  
"Captain! Times up and the Doctor hasn't shut down the power to the warp engines! We've got four minutes till the field collapses and we're torn apart!"

"On my way!" Kirk said. He and Spock sprinted for the nearest turbolift.

They arrived in engineering to find Scott and his staff hurrying between consoles.

"Scotty report!" Kirk ordered.

"He didn't shut the power off! I can't get in to that bloody box of his!" Scott said.

"Can you shut down the warp engines from here?" Kirk asked.

"I've tried that. There's no response. They won't shut down with that much power going to them!"

"Can we jettison the nacelles?" Kirk suggested.

"Not without destroying the rest of the ship when we drop from warp" Scott said.

The red alert klaxon began sounding.

"Och!" Scott said "The shield generators are overloading! I have to shut them down!" Kirk grabbed his arm

"If you do that the _Enterprise_ will be torn apart in minutes!"

"And if I don't the generators will blow and take us with them in seconds!" Scott said

Kirk let go and Scott moved to a console and shut down the shields. Instantly the _Enterprise_began shaking.

"How long Scotty?" Kirk said.

"She canna take this speed for long! I'd say we had another three minutes!"

Kirk ran to the TARDIS and began banging on the door.

"Doctor! Can you here me? If you don't shut down in three minutes we're all dead!"

Inside the TARDIS Lawson lunged for the Doctor. He dodged and hit out, catching the human on the chin. Lawson was barely staggered. He attacked again and this time got his hands round the Time lord's throat. The Doctor gasped as the impossibly strong grip choked off his air supply. He felt everything start to shake and didn't know if it was lack of oxygen or from the _Enterprise_ tearing herself apart. The Doctor struggled, trying to break Lawson's grip. He failed and knew he was only seconds from unconsciousness. With his last act he did something simple, something almost meaningless, but something that could end up saving everything, everywhere.

The Doctor clicked his fingers.

Outside Kirk was still hammering on the door. Spock was next to Scott, trying solutions, but not succeeding. They had roughly two minutes. Just then the TARDIS door popped open.

"Spock!" Kirk called and rushed inside. Spock ran after him. They rushed up the ramp to the control console and saw a Starfleet officer in a blue shirt strangling the Doctor.  
"Lawson!" Kirk called and ran in and an arm around Lawson's neck trying to pull him off the Doctor. Lawson released one hand and backhanded Kirk, sending him flying. Spock moved in and applied the Nerve pinch. It had no effect. Spock readjusted his tactics and, putting his hand together, brought them down in a double handed smash onto Lawson's back. Lawson arched and let go his grip on the Doctor. He turned and faced the Vulcan. Lawson didn't see Kirk rush in. Kirk jumped and planted one foot into Lawson side in a flying kick. Lawson fell sideways to the floor.

"Spock! The Doctor!"  
Spock moved to the stricken Time lord who was only just breathing.

The Vulcan tried to shake him awake.

Kirk stood ready as Lawson regained his feet. Out of the corner of his eye Kirk saw Scott run it and head for the console, trying to figure out how to shut it down. Kirk felt shudders run through the floor of the TARDIS and he knew his ship only had seconds left.

Lawson moved forward. Kirk didn't give him a chance but moved in, punching to the face and body. It had no effect. Kirk performed a knife hand chop to the neck. Lawson punched out, hitting Kirk on the jaw which sent him crashing to the floor. Kirk was stunned by the punch and nearly blacked out. Lawson advanced and picked up a large wrench from the floor. He stood over Kirk. Kirk tried to move, the wrench came down…and blue phaser fire from a junior engineer engulfed Lawson, sending him falling to the deck. Kirk tried to stand but was still shaky. His vision was blurred and he saw Spock trying to rouse the Doctor as Scott frantically searched for the right control. Kirk's legs gave way and he fell again, knowing that finally he had lost…


	4. Chapter 4

Part four.

The sensation of cold metal permeated through Kirk's face. His eyes slowly opened. It took a few seconds for his brain to remember what was going on. He lifted his head to see Spock kneeling over him.

"Are you alright Jim?" Spock asked.

Kirk, with Spock's help stood up, his jaw aching painfully. He looked around and saw the Doctor upright and hanging onto the console, his face pale. Mr Scott was sat on a nearby cream leather seat, sagging as if totally exhausted.

"How are we still here?" Kirk managed.

"Mr Scott was able to locate the correct control to shut off power to the warp engines" Spock explained.

"Well done Scotty!" Kirk said.

"Aye…..thank you sir" The engineer seemed in a state of shock.

The Doctor moved over form the console, he seemed to be recovering quickly.

"I see why you call him the miracle worker Captain! My console is not the easiest to understand"

He reached over and took Scott's hand and began shaking it.

"Nice job Mr Scott! If you're interested you cut the power nine seconds before the _Enterprise_ would have been destroyed"

"Nine?" Scott looked like he was going to be sick.

"Yes" The Doctor said "Loads of time." From the look that passed over the chief engineers face Kirk thought Scott might actually punch the Doctor.

Oblivious the Time lord turned back to his console and busily worked controls.  
"Captain if you're interested we've stopped just outside the star system of the Forever planet"  
"Thank you" Kirk looked around and saw the stunned body of Lawson still on the floor nearby.

"Spock. Have security take Lawson to the brig and have McCoy examine him there" Kirk ordered.

"Yes sir" Spock left the TARDIS and a few seconds later came back with two security officers. Looking round in amazement at the TARDIS they carried Lawson out.

"Scotty, I need you to continue repairs to the ship" Kirk said,

This seemed to have a galvanising effect on the engineer.

"Aye sir" He stood and glaring at the Doctor, left the time machine.

"Doctor! Can you explain why Lawson attacked you?" Spock asked.

"Oh he was a Dalek agent" The Doctor said, matter of factly.

"He was working for the Daleks?" Kirk asked a note of anger in his voice.

The Doctor stopped and looked up at the Starship captain.

"Yes, but not willingly. The Daleks have techniques to brainwash and control individuals. Mr Lawson was under their control. He had no choice".

"How was he so strong?" Kirk asked.

"Stimulation of the adrenal gland" The Doctor said. "Unfortunately it also burns up the body" He looked sad. "I'm sorry Captain but I don't think Mr Lawson will have long to live. Another victim of the Daleks!"

"Doctor I am confused as to why the Daleks would program Mister Lawson to kill you and thus destroy the _Enterprise_. They must have known the factory would be destroyed". Spock said

"Hmm…yes…hang on" The Doctor twirled levers. "A signal! The Daleks sent a signal about six minutes ago"

"That would coincide with the time of their destruction" Spock said.

"See? Plans within plans! They had a back up. When is became obvious that they were going to be destroyed they sent a signal to Lawson to kill me. He was hiding in here and would have seen and understood everything we were doing. Hmm no one ever said the Daleks were stupid" He stood up.

"By the way, thank you for saving my life gentlemen"

"Seems like I owed you one" Kirk smiled. "Now let's get to the bridge and save the universe!"

In the turbolift the comm whistled.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk" Uhura said.

"Go ahead"  
"Sir I have received a signal from the _USS Achilles_. They have responded to our call and will be in range in eight minutes"

"That's excellent news Lt thank you" He pressed the button. "Our first piece of good luck Mr Spock"

"Why is that Captain?" The Doctor asked.

"The _Achilles _is a _Hektor _class escort carrier" Spock explained.

"You mean a warship" The Doctor said.

"Starfleet doesn't like the term warship but yes that's what she is. Heavily armed and shielded with a full compliment of Starfleet assault marines" Kirk said. "Just what we need "

Minutes later they were on the bridge. Kirk had received a report from Scotty telling him that the shields were up but not at full strength.

"They'll have to do Scotty" Kirk had decided.

"Spock how long have we got?"

"According to the Doctor's original estimate we have sixty eight minutes until the Daleks can activate their device" Spock said.

"Doctor what can we expect on the planet?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor was perched on the red railing opposite the science station.

"Well there will be at least five attack ships on the surface; I noticed earlier that they weren't docked with the cruiser you destroyed. Each one has a lot of firepower and carries at least fifty Daleks. They will form a perimeter around the planet and destroy any vessel that comes close." He paused "I'm afraid your outgunned Captain."

Kirk smiled

"Not with the _Achilles"_

On the viewscreen the _Hektor _class starship _Achilles_ eased into view. She was slightly smaller than the _Enterprise__. _ The ship seemed to be made up of a secondary hull, with short pylons and twin nacelles. She had a bulge at the front of the hull that housed the bridge. The ship was not meant for exploration but combat and landing operations. She had a crew of a hundred and fifty but carried three hundred marines, plus combat shuttles. She was tough and powerful.

"Captain we are being hailed" Uhura reported.

"On screen" Kirk said.

The screen flickered and a grey haired man appeared.

"Jim, what the hell is going on?" Captain Ethan Devlin was a veteran Starfleet captain, smart, experienced and as tough as they came. He had joined as a Starfleet marine and worked his way up the ranks. Now in his early fifties he could still keep up with the marines under his command.

"Ethan, we're really glad to see you" Kirk said "Have you read the log entries we transmitted?"  
"Yes, and Starfleet has ordered us to assist you in anyway possible"

"Thank you Ethan" Kirk said "We need to come up with an attack plan and quickly" He looked at the Doctor. "Doctor? You say that the Dalek ships will stop us before we can get to the planet?"

"Yes, Plus there will be Daleks on the planet. You won't be able to fight your way past the ships in time to stop them".

"And our attack ships are too slow to make it to the planet while the _Enterprise_and _Achilles_ engage the Dalek ships" Devlin commented.

The Doctor jumped up, excitedly  
"Ah ha! Your ships are but mine isn't!" He said "I could get there in minutes!"

"Could you take a squad of marines with you?" Kirk asked.

The Doctor looked at him.

"Oh" He said "I can do a lot better than that!"

"We are down to fifty minutes Doctor. Are you ready?" Kirk looked at the Doctor on the viewscreen. The Time lord had described his idea to the Starfleet officers and after a few looks of disbelief the plan was put in motion. The two starships would head for the planet at full impulse power in an attempt to draw out and engage the Dalek ships while the Doctor would try to pass them in his TARDIS with a strike force on board.

"I'm ready Captain" The Doctor answered.

"Ethan?"

"Ready Jim" Devlin's voice echoed over the speaker.

"Ok, let's go, Mr Sulu ahead full impulse power. All hands battle stations!"

The _Enterprise_and the _Achilles _surged forward, leaving the TARDIS hanging alone in space. Inside the Doctor had company in the shape of a Starfleet marine called Commander Edge who was hovering nearby.

"I still can't believe what you did Doctor"

"Well, it was nothing really; I got the idea when I saw your ship"

The Doctor said.

"What's the _Achilles_ got to do with it?" Edge asked.

"_Hektor _class? _Achilles?" _ The Doctor raised his eyebrows,

"Sorry no, still don't understand "Edge said.

The Doctor sighed.

"Oh well, I suppose you don't need a classical education to pull a trigger"

He checked readout.

"It's working! Time to go!" He pulled a lever and Edge was nearly thrown from his feet as the TARDIS jolted forward, towards the planet.

Kirk saw the five Dalek attack ships approaching fast on the viewer.

"Sulu! Let's not give them time to react! Target lead ship and fire full phasers as soon as we're within range"

"Aye sir" Sulu looked in his targeting scanner.

"In range, firing phasers"

Kirk heard the hum of energy as the ships phasers lashed out.

On the_ Achilles_ Devlin was watching as blue beams erupted from the constitution class starship and hit the bronze disc. Each Dalek ship was about half the size of the _Enterprise__'s_ primary hull and was well shielded. He saw the phasers impact, but it seemed to have little effect.

"Captain, phasers ready" His first officer reported.

"Fire!"

Four phaser beams lanced out from the emitters on the _Achilles'_ hull. They smashed into a Dalek ship.

"Minimal damage to enemy vessel" Came the report.

The warship rocked as she was hit.

"Shields holding!"

"Helm!" Devlin said "I want you to engage one ship with phasers and target a second with the torpedoes, fire when ready"

"Aye sir"  
Beams lanced out, hitting a ship and at the same time torpedoes launched and smashed into a second ship.

"Damage to that vessel Captain" His first officer reported.

"Good! Keep the pressure on! Fire!.

On the _Enterprise_Kirk was rocked in his chair as the ship heeled to starboard.

"Hit on our forward shields. Down to fifty percent" Spock reported.

Kirk saw that the Dalek ships had split into two groups. Two were targeting the_ Enterprise_ while three were battling the _Achilles. _

"Sulu. Course 020 mark 30! Fire torpedoes!" More blazing balls of light flew out and blasted pieces off a Dalek ship.  
"Sulu! Full phasers now!" Kirk ordered.

The _Enterprise_ fired all she had at the ship. Kirk saw that the _Achilles_, like a shark, had seen the wounded ship and fired as well. The Dalek ship exploded, sending debris hurtling into the shields of Kirk's battered starship.

She shuddered but held together, fighting on.

In orbit of the Forever planet the TARDIS appeared with its usual grinding noise. In the console room the Doctor looked at his scanner closely, Commander Edge next to him.

"What can you see?" Edge asked.

"Its as I thought, the Daleks have put up a shield around the Guardian and their rift projector. I can see that they've established a command base as well. The shield control will be in there."  
"If we destroy that base will the shield collapse?"  
"Yes" The Doctor said "However it's guarded by at least a hundred Daleks and I can see another five hundred in the surrounding area" He paused.

"They've detected us. I'm reading several hundred lifting off the surface. They'll intercept us in two minutes"

"If they can fly in space why do they need ships?" Edge asked

"They have limited range" The Doctor said

"My men can take them on Doctor" Edge said confidently  
"I hope so" The Doctor checked a clock " Because we've only got thirty minutes left till they activate the projector"

"Time to go Doctor" Said Edge, moving a door that led deeper into the TARDIS.

"Good luck Commander" The Doctor said.

"And to you" The marine left the console room.

A few minutes later his voice echoed through a speaker on the console.

"We're good to go"

"Ok" Said the Doctor "Stand by"  
He looked at his viewscreen. He could see at least two hundred objects getting closer to his position. They grew larger and the Doctor could make out the burnished hull of the travel machines the Dalek mutants lived in as they encircled the TARDIS.

How many times will I fight you? The Doctor wondered. You are willing to risk the destruction of infinity. He brought a fist down on the console. I should have destroyed you on Skaro when I had the chance.

A signal flashed on the console. The Doctor flicked a switch.

"Doctor" The familiar grating voice said "You will surrender or be exterminated"

The Doctor crumpled his face.

"Nah, I don't think I will, in fact I intend to stop you once and for all"

"You cannot. You are alone and surrounded"

"Surrounded maybe" The Doctor grinned "Alone? That's where you're WRONG" He finished with a triumphant shout and yanked a control.

From space the TARDIS grinded and howled as she dematerialised. Anyone watching would have seen the blue box disappear and in its place faded into view ten fully armed Starfleet attack shuttles, full to the brim with marines.

They burst forward, literally ramming Daleks out of the way and raced for the planet surface.

On the _Enterprise_ the crew hung on grimly as the starship was shaken hard. She lurched as she was hit again and again.

"Shields down to ten percent!" Spock shouted over the noise."

"All emergency power to shields!" Kirk said. "Keep firing"  
"Captain! I've received a signal from the Doctor! The horse has emptied"

Kirk smiled.

"It worked!"

The ship rocked again around him.

The Starfleet attack shuttles sped towards the planet surface, the TARDIS keeping pace. Around them Daleks were chasing and zooming round them firing for all they were worth. The bolts were not powerful enough to bother either the time machine or Starfleet shields. On the lead shuttle Edge stood over the helmsman, holding onto a rail in the roof.

"If this is all they have this will be a quick fight".

In the aft section of the shuttle two gunners were in weapons pods, firing short bursts of phaser fire at the Daleks, destroying them easily.

Edge called the Doctor.

"Doctor I read, one hundred and fifty Daleks in the air, a hundred around the Guardian and two hundred and fifty more on the ground a kilometre away."  
"Yes that looks about right" The Doctor answered. He was troubled by something, a nagging thought.

"Commander would your base have had any defensive weapons?"

"Yes, standard type four phaser banks, why?"

"It's just that the…." He was cut off by the sound of a blue phaser beam erupting from the surface. It hit one of the shuttles, vaporising it instantly.

"What the hell!?" Edge shouted.

"…Dalek are good at using other technologies" The Doctor finished.

"Evasive manoeuvres! Scan for those phaser banks!" Edge shouted. A phaser beam screamed past close to the shuttle. Air molecules were incinerated, causing a shockwave that rocked the shuttle.

"Shuttle one to two, three and four, head for the surface, I want a strafing run on the Daleks on the ground. The rest lock on and take out those phaser banks!"

The combat shuttles dived down towards the ground.

The _Achilles_ was being battered by two Dalek ships; between the two of them the Starships had destroyed two Dalek ships. One was firing on the _Enterprise_ and the other two were hammering the _Achilles. _ The warship turned and fired everything she had at one ship, causing its hull to collapse and fly apart. Devlin turned all his attention to the remaining attacker.

Kirk ordered the _Enterprise_ into evasive manoeuvres to try to protect her shields. It felt like they'd been fighting for hours but a quick glance at the chronometer revealed only a few minutes had passed.

"Sulu! Torpedoes! Lock one on the rear of the Dalek ship. Then fire another directly in its path!"  
"Ready sir"

"Fire one!" He paused "Fire two!"

A torpedo sped out and swung round to the rear of the Dalek ship, exploding against the hull, jolting it forward and into the path of the second torpedo.

It exploded with even greater force, sending a shock wave through the hull of the ship, destroying it instantly.

The last Dalek ship was being hammered by the _Achilles. _The _Enterprise_swung into view and fired at the Dalek cruiser.

"Dalek shield integrity down to twenty percent" Spock reported.

The Dalek ship was closer to the _Achilles_ than the _Enterprise_ and it suddenly darted towards the warship.

"The vessel is on a collision course" Spock said.

Kirk reacted instantly. "Intercept course, all power to impulse engines! Fire torpedoes!"

The torpedoes lashed out from the starship just as the _Achilles _fired. The Dalek ship exploded only one hundred kilometres from the _Achilles._

Inside the crew were thrown around as pieces of debris hit her shields.

Devlin looked around.

"Damage report!" He ordered.

His first officer spoke up.

"Shields down to thirty percent, damage to warp engines and number two phaser bank"

Devlin sank back into his chair.

"Could have been a lot worse"

The first officer was silent as he listened to his earpiece.

"We have casualties Captain, Ten confirmed dead and twelve injured"

Devlin rubbed his hand over his face.

"Understood" he said quietly. There was no time to grieve though. He called over to his comm officer.

"Call the _Enterprise__"_

Kirk appeared on the screen.

"How are things with you Jim?" Devlin asked.

Kirk looked grim.

"Our shields are down to ten percent and we've damage to our secondary hull, but we're able to make to the planet when you are"

"Excellent! Let us go first; our shields are in better shape"  
"Agreed, Spock says we have thirty minutes left"

"Ok, we'll see you there Jim. Devlin out"

Kirk watched as the _Hektor _class ship pulled slightly ahead of his starship.

"Full impulse Mr Sulu, get us to that planet"

"Aye sir"  
The two federation starships headed for the planet.

In the air over the forever planet the Starfleet shuttles raced over the Dalek positions and rained phaser fire down on them. Scores of Daleks were destroyed but the shield over the rift projector withstood the onslaught. They fought back and the captured Starfleet phaser banks brought down four shuttles before Edge and his team took them out with torpedoes.

The Doctor scanned and found the Dalek command base. He landed nearby, grateful that the Daleks were distracted. He checked a watch. They had ten minutes before the Daleks could activate their rift projector. He snuck out and took a look around. About a hundred meters ahead of him was the command base. It was a flat roofed structure, about ten metres high. In the same bronze colour as the rest of the Daleks, it hummed with power as it covered the rift projector with a forcefield. Beyond the base, about fifty metres distant was the rift projector itself. The Doctor could see the ruins of an ancient city in the distance. Aged structures now crumbled and decayed that the Doctor found vaguely familiar. He saw that there were large boulders between him and the command base. Darting forward he ran, from boulder to boulder, trying to get close enough without being detected.

Edge ordered his shuttles to land. The remaining craft landed and the marines stormed out, firing at the remaining Daleks. He could see a shimmering forcefield around an alien device. In front of it he could see the mysterious torus shaped object that was the Guardian of forever. There were only about thirty Daleks left on the surface. He waited in cover, then sprang up and ran forward, his men following in a criss cross of Dalek disruptor and Starfleet phasers.

In orbit the _Enterprise_ and _Achilles _hung over the planet.

"I am reading energy signatures consistent with weapons fire" Spock reported. "There is a strong defensive shield over the Guardians location"

Kirk sprang up.

"How long?"

"We have six minutes"

Kirk headed for the turbolift.

"Have security meet me in the transporter room, Spock, when the shield comes down, fire full phasers on that location. No matter what"

"Affirmative"

Kirk ran to the transporter room where three security officers were waiting for him. He collected an equipment belt and the four men mounted the pad.

"Energise"

Kirk materialised on a slight hill, overlooking the battle site. He could see marines engaging Daleks and the Doctor, who was nearly at a bronze structure.

That must be the command base he thought. Kirk quickly scouted a path down to the Doctor and ran down the slope towards him.

The Doctor had now reached the base and was adjusting his screwdriver when four figures, one in a gold coloured shirt skidded to a halt next to him.

"Hello Captain. Nice to see you!"

Kirk was out of breath.

"Can you bring that shield down?"

"Yes, it's just a case of finding the correct resonance harmonic to disrupt the power frequency"

"And how long will that take?" Kirk demanded.

"Oh a few minutes" The Doctor said, calmly.

"We don't have a few minutes!" Kirk protested.

The Doctor pressed a button and a high pitch shriek emanated from the screwdriver, causing everyone nearby to cover their ears.

The Doctor held the screwdriver against the hull of the base. Kirk swore later that he saw the base start to vibrate. It certainly felt like his teeth were being shaken loose.

Suddenly the noise stopped and Kirk felt deafened by the silence. He shook his head clear and saw the Doctor smiling.

"All done, the powers off"  
He checked a readout on his screwdriver and his face fell.

"Oh"

"Oh, what"? Kirk asked

"Something I hadn't thought off. There is still residual power in the shield. It will take at least four minutes to dissipate"

Kirk grabbed a tricorder from a security guard.

"I'm reading a power build up in that device!" He pointed at the rift projector. The Doctor looked at the small screen.

"Oh dear, they can fire in three minutes"

Kirk pulled out his communicator.

"Kirk to _Enterprise__!_"  
"Spock here"  
"Spock lock onto the shield. I want you and Devlin to fire full phasers, now!"

"Captain, you are very close"

"Don't worry Spock we're moving! Fire as soon as possible"

"Yes sir"

Kirk pulled himself up and turned and ran the Doctor and the security officers following.

The last of the Daleks were destroyed and Edge had taken a deep breath when he heard the shriek of phaser fire. For a minute he thought that the Daleks were somehow firing again. He saw four beams streak down from space, as if an angry god was throwing bolts of lightening. They impacted the Dalek shields.

Kirk and his group had moved to a low wall about sixty meters away from the Guardian and watched. The phaser beams struck the shield. Kirk watched in impatience. He looked at a countdown on his tricorder. One minute to go. Inside the shield he could see Daleks moving around the projector. It looked like a bronze cylinder sat on upside down semi circles, a long wide barrel projected from the front. It was pointing right at the Guardian of Forever. The artefact stood impassively silent, as if watching and waiting. Kirk could see an orange nimbus of energy appear from the front of the barrel.

He looked at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry Captain" The Time lord said.

A bright orange beam shot out from the mouth of the barrel right into the portal opening of the Guardian. For a second nothing happened, and then Kirk could see the Daleks moving around the device with urgency.

"Its happening" The Doctor said, in abject defeat.

Just then phasers from the starships burst through the shield and obliterated the Daleks and their device. Kirk shielded his eyes from the glare and when he looked again he saw the Guardian was still amazingly in one piece. The portal was in its centre was a swirling mass of energy and Kirk sensed it was building up to a massive explosion.

"Doctor what can we do?" He shouted.

"Nothing"

Kirk looked on helplessly.

Suddenly the Guardian spoke.

"NO!"

The energy in the centre began to fade and then it was gone.

Kirk turned to the Doctor his mouth open.

"How…?"

"I have no idea" The Time lord answered.

They stood and moved towards the Guardian of Forever. Edge and his surviving marines joined them and Kirk heard the familiar whine of a transporter. He turned to see Spock and Devin appear nearby.

"Captain" Spock said. "I registered a build up of power that went off our scale but my estimate would suggest something on a scale of several times the magnitude of the big bang that created the universe"

The Starfleet officers and Time lord all stood before the Guardian.

"Guardian" Kirk said memories of his time here flooding back.  
There was silence.  
"Guardian!" Kirk called again.

The Guardian spoke.

"I am the Guardian of Forever. I was built to protect all time and space and show its wonders to all who wished to"

The Doctor stepped forward.

"Who built you?" He asked.

"A question" The Guardian intoned "But not the right question. I offer you a portal home Time lord"

Mists appeared in the central opening and an image of a planet surface formed. Kirk could see that it was an exact duplicate of the plain they were standing on.

"Guardian, how did you stop the reaction? How did you save everything?"

The Doctor asked.

There was silence.

"I don't think we're going to find out Doctor "Kirk said.

The Doctor turned and faced the Starship captain.

"No I suppose not, Oh well" He clapped his hands together "I have to say gentlemen that it has been a real pleasure to meet you all! But I have to be going"

Kirk and Spock walked to the TARDIS with the Doctor and he opened the door.

"Thank you Captain"  
"Thank you Doctor"

The Doctor grinned, and went to step inside and then stopped.

"I wonder if you could be me one thing?" He said to Kirk.

"Of course"

Smiling the Doctor leaned over and whispered into Kirks ear for a minute. A look of puzzlement came over Kirk's face.

"Really?"  
"Yes please" The Doctor eyes shined with excitement.

"Well ok" Kirk turned to Spock. "Time we were going"

"Yes sir"

Kirk opened his communicator

"Really?" He asked again.

"Yes" The Doctor nodded a happy smile on his face.

"Kirk to _Enterprise__"_.

"Scott here"

Kirk looked at the Doctor and took a breath.

"Beam me up, Scotty"

As he was swept up in the beam Kirk was sure he heard a loud "YES" shouted from the Doctor.

The End


End file.
